


E cross B

by lasersheith



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Humor, M/M, Post Season 7, accidental railguns, cracked played straight, kosmo is a good dog, significant shoulder touches gone wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 10:22:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16173158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasersheith/pseuds/lasersheith
Summary: Shiro runs into an unfortunate problem with his new arm. Matt tries to help.Wiping his hands on his pants, Matt chuckled nervously. “Yeah so, good news: in a pinch your arm can make an impromptu railgun.”Keith turned his head from where he was examining the hole in the wall. “That might actually come in handy.” He groaned at the gleeful smile that spread across Matt’s face. “Shut up. I meant useful. Might be useful.”“No, you made a pun, own it.” Matt teased, pumping his eyebrows up and down.Shaking his head in irritation, Keith walked back over to the desk and leaned a hip against it. “Anyway, we don’t want a railgun, we want Shiro’s arm back in commission. What’s the plan?”





	E cross B

The high stack of monitors bathed Matt's face in eerie green light as he clacked away on his keyboard. His shoulders and his expression were tense, studying the readouts with rapt attention. The soft tap of a knock on the door had him jerking out of his seat as if on a loaded spring that had finally popped. 

Shaking his head and rubbing at his sore eyes, he called, “'s open,” groggily, before draining the room temperature bottle of water that had been sitting on his desk all day, untouched. 

Shiro poked his head in warily, a guilty smile on his face that Matt knew meant nothing good. “Are you, uh, busy right now?” Shiro stammered, still not entering the room fully. 

Matt set his drink down and leaned back into his chair. “I'm just running the Galra tracker with the new codes we picked up from Sendak’s ships,” he yawned and stretched, not sure how long he'd been sitting. “It's mostly automated, I can take a break.” 

They stared at each other, Matt with a well-hidden but keen interest and Shiro warily, face paling and then blooming a spectacular hue of red. “It's… a problem with my arm.” Shiro answered Matt's unspoken question. 

“Dad designed it, he's probably the best person to help.” Matt offered the bait, dangling it in front of Shiro's face. There was a way out of the situation that would save Shiro from Matt's mockery and he wanted to make sure they both knew it before Shiro came clean. 

With a heaving sigh, Shiro entered the room, not shutting the door behind him. The field emitter attached to his right shoulder pulsed and whirred, signifying it was actively engaged somewhere. “I just… really need as few people as possible to know about this. Please.” He looked into Matt's eyes with a heartbreaking, pleading gaze, not quite on the verge of crocodile tears. 

Matt broke quickly, it was the doting big brother in him; he didn't stand a chance against puppy dog eyes. “Fine, but that doesn't mean I won't make fun of you.” 

Shiro let out a relieved breath before turning into the hallway and nodding. Matt raised an eyebrow as Keith walked in, his arms crossed over the chest of his new Blade of Marmora armor. He had to cover a laugh with a cough before giving up on the charade entirely and doubling over onto his desk, whole body shaking as tears of mirth steamed down his cheeks. 

Keith growled under his breath and slammed the door shut. “Yeah, ok. We get it. Can you fix it?” He grunted, eyes fixed on the floor. 

Matt took another moment to appreciate the situation for what it was, finally calming down enough to wipe his cheeks and gulp air into his empty lungs. He motioned Keith over as he stood. “Can you hit the lights?” Matt asked breathlessly, tilting his head to inspect the grip Shiro's prosthetic hand had wrapped like a vice around Keith's shoulder. 

The overhead lights flickered on and Matt blinked the stars from his eyes until they adjusted. Pulling first at the wrist and then at individual fingers, he frowned when none of the joints gave way. “Do you have the specs on the new armor? It's reacting with the tracking field in a really weird way.” He asked distractedly, poking at the hand and then at Keith's armored shoulder with a small screwdriver. “Well, it's non-reactive with aluminum at least.” He muttered. 

“Kolivan might have them, but…” Keith trailed off, staring at the ground in front of Shiro's feet. 

Matt shrugged. “Ok, we can do this the trial and error way, or the horrifically painful for Shiro way.” He concluded, leaning back onto his desk with raised eyebrows. 

“Trial and error.” Keith replied decisively. 

“Painful how?” Shiro asked at precisely the same time. 

Their eyes snapped towards each other and Matt watched in fascination as they had an entire conversation without saying a word. “Ok, you guys stay here and keep… telepathying at each other, I'm gonna go get a butt ton of magnets.” Matt interjected, sidling around the desk and leaving his office without looking back. 

Getting to the lab without being questioned was easy enough, but gathering what he needed inconspicuously once inside was much more tricky. As soon as Matt opened the cabinet containing the stock of neodymium magnets, Pidge was on high alert. 

“That looks fun.” She stood on tiptoe to watch as he loaded a tray with other rare earth magnets, carefully separating them. “Share with the class?” 

Matt shook his head sadly. “No can do, pidgeon. It's top secret.” He hated not being able to tell her the beautiful, hilarious truth. 

Pidge frowned and put her hands on her hips. “This might just be me, but I feel like saving  _ the entire universe multiple times  _ should get me access to every classified thing, ever.” 

Matt nodded sympathetically. “You would think, but I'm honor-bound by bro-code this time.” He turned to give her a sad smile. 

She smirked, catching onto his hint immediately. “Where did Shiro's arm get stuck?” She asked excitedly. 

Shaking his head, Matt slowly backed out of the lab. “I've already said too much.” He paused at the door. “On a  _ completely unrelated note  _ you might want to check out the new Marmora stealth suits. Very interesting stuff.” He winked before letting the door swing shut behind him. 

“I'm so sorry, Keith. I was just trying to be reassuring.” Matt heard Shiro proclaim brokenly outside of his office. 

A brief shuffle of boots clunked from inside. “It's ok. Matt’ll fix it.” Keith replied so quietly Matt almost didn't make it out. 

He cleared his throat and roughly tossed his shoulder into the door, not wanting to intrude further on what sounded like a private moment. “Grab the door please, I have delicate rocks.” 

Keith pulled it open and peered warily at Matt's tray as he gingerly set it on the edge of the desk. 

“So,” Matt picked up a magnet and tossed it idly up and down in his left hand. “We can try to disrupt the field enough to trigger the standard failure mode,” he held up his right palm and wiggled his fingers. “Or I can open up the field emitter and mess around with the port, but it's attached to Shiro's nervous system and I haven't read all of dad's notes.” 

Keith paled and frowned at the mammoth hand in his peripheral vision. “How do we disrupt the field?” He asked, looking up into Shiro's eyes as if Matt weren't in the room. 

Matt clucked his tongue and tossed the magnet again. “You’ll stand in opposite corners and I'll throw magnets in between you until the arm drops.” 

Shiro shrugged. “Sounds better than you poking at my nervous system, but I'm skeptical.” His gaze never left Keith's. “Are you sure it won't… I don't know, squeeze harder? I don't want to hurt Keith.” 

Matt shook his head emphatically. “A field disruption will  _ definitely  _ trigger a fault and safe mode is always open, specifically for dumb things like this.” 

Steel gray and storm blue turned in unison and threatened to vaporize Matt where he stood, but he remained steadfast in his conclusion. “Look me in the eyes and tell me this is not the dumbest thing that's ever happened to either of you.” 

Keith rolled his eyes and looked away. “Fine. Just… throw your stupid rocks.” He grumbled, arms crossing over his chest again. 

Shiro chuckled quietly. “Is this better or worse than getting stuck in the evac pod during training?” 

Clearing his throat and pulling at his collar, Matt stood and started digging through the drawers. “I have no idea what you're talking about and we shouldn't talk about it anymore.” He yammered, quickly changing the subject. “Anyway, Shiro, go stand in the corner, right side facing the middle of the room.”

Shiro laughed but followed his instructions, shooting Keith a look that Matt was sure meant his secrets were no longer safe in Shiro's arms. “Keith, help me move my desk.” He pushed at a corner as he waited, moving it only a few millimeters. 

Keith strode across the room and shoved at the desk, easily sliding it from the center of the room without breaking a sweat. “Show off,” Matt mumbled under his breath. 

“You said  _ move the desk,”  _ Keith protested, tossing his arms up. 

“Whatever, it's fine. Good job.” He pointed to the opposite corner of the room. “Go stand over there.” 

When Keith was in position, Matt grabbed the smallest magnet from the tray and gave it a kiss for luck before tossing it towards the center of the room. All three of them stared in awe as it spun in the air, suspended by the field emitted by Shiro's shoulder. The light sparkled and glinted off of the polished metal, making Matt's head spin a little. 

He picked up a slightly bigger magnet and poised to toss it before setting it back down and rushing over to his desk. “We should record this, so it's science.” He muttered under his breath, turning his webcam and hitting the record button. 

“No!” Shiro groaned. “Turn it off, Matt!” He slapped his left hand over his face. 

Matt frowned. “I need to analyze the data later and make sure this doesn't happen again.” He argued, not turning the camera off. 

Keith sighed. “It's fine, Shiro. He won't show anyone.” The look in Keith's eyes as he slowly turned his head had Matt nodding along. 

“Absolutely. I'll take down observation notes and redact anything unseemly when I get dad's input on how to adjust the emitter.” Keith's harsh gaze didn't waver at Matt's promises. “And then delete the video.” Matt finished, hanging his head.

Shiro worried at his bottom lip for a long moment. “Fine.” He finally agreed. 

Grabbing the slightly larger magnet again, Matt made sure to stand out of the way of the camera as he gently tossed it toward the center of the room where the other magnet was still spinning. The larger magnet joined the smaller, hovering in place as it spun. Taking a moment to observe, Matt gripped his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t know if this is gonna work.” He declared as the two magnets began spinning around each other in a tighter and tighter arc. Eyes going wide, he ducked down just as they were ejected from the field, shattering through the drywall and falling with a clunk to the ground in the liminal space between offices. 

“Matt! Are you ok?” Shiro darted across the room, kneeling before and helping Matt back to his feet. 

Wiping his hands on his pants, Matt chuckled nervously. “Yeah so, good news: in a pinch your arm can make an impromptu railgun.” 

Keith turned his head from where he was examining the hole in the wall. “That might actually come in handy.” He groaned at the gleeful smile that spread across Matt’s face. “Shut up. I meant useful. Might be useful.”    
  
“No, you made a pun, own it.” Matt teased, pumping his eyebrows up and down. 

Shaking his head in irritation, Keith walked back over to the desk and leaned a hip against it. “Anyway, we don’t want a railgun, we want Shiro’s arm back in commission. What’s the plan?” 

“Spoil sport.” Matt muttered under his breath. He took a long moment to think about it before snapping his fingers with a sudden idea. “Kosmo! He loves to play fetch with Shiro’s arm! Maybe he can zap it off of you!” 

Standing up straight again, Keith tossed a hand up in surprise. “Perfect!” He let out a high-pitched whistle that had Shiro and Matt cringing and turning away from him. 

Kosmo popped into the office with his tongue lolling out one side of his mouth, tail zipping happily behind him as his eyes landed on Keith. “Hey, good boy.” Keith knelt and scratched Kosmo’s neck, earning him a slobbery kiss across the face. 

“Ok buddy, I need you to play fetch with Shiro’s arm.” He pointed at his shoulder. 

Kosmo whimpered and put his chin on the ground, covering his face with his front paws. 

Keith sighed and pulled them away gently. “I know I said you weren’t supposed to, but this is a special situation. Please fetch.” He begged, pointing at the arm again. 

Kosmo rolled over onto his back and popped out of the room. 

Flopping onto the floor dramatically, Keith spread his arms and legs wide. “Guess I just live like this now,” he murmured distractedly. 

Shiro groaned. “Of course the one time I actually want him to disappear with the stupid thing and he won’t do it.” Shaking his head, he turned back to Matt. “What else can we try?” 

Matt chewed on the inside of his cheek as he thought. “Everything I can think of means going into the lab, but dad and Katie and Slav and who knows who else are all in there.”

After a few minutes of tense, ponderous silence, Shiro finally hung his head. “Fine, I guess we have to just… tell everyone what happened.” He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. 

Matt sighed. “Well there's one more thing we could try but uh…”

Keith and Shiro both snapped their heads towards him, eyes glittering with hope. 

“I’m sure you’ve already tried but... maybe try to get the armor off?” Matt suggested.

Keith's mouth fell open for a moment before snapping shut again as he let out a sigh. “Can’t believe I didn’t think of that,” he groaned.

They all stared at each other for a second before Shiro cleared his throat. “I'll… I'll go get you some clothes then.” 

Matt nodded. “And I will definitely be turning the camera off.” He dashed over to the desk and unplugged the webcam, stuffing it into a drawer just for good measure. “Do you need help, or...?” He asked, wincing. 

“No.” Keith replied emphatically, motioning for both of them to leave the room. 

Matt waited in the hallway anxiously for Shiro to return with a small pack full of clothes for Keith to put on, trying to remain stoic in the wake of the frankly disturbing sounds coming through the door. Shiro offered him a terse nod as he returned, knocking softly on the door. “It's me,” he said quietly, face nearly pressed against the wood. 

“I might need a little help.” Keith called weakly from the other side. 

Staring up at the ceiling as if to ask God why this was happening specifically at him, Matt sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that afternoon. “Ok, let's make this quick.” 

Shiro turned and held his hand up. “He's my boyfriend, I'll help him get undressed myself, thanks,” he said with a quiet chuckle. 

Matt's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “He's… your? You guys are…?” He stammered, mouth opening and closing as he processed. 

“Matt… are you serious?” Shiro laughed incredulously. “We're not subtle. How did you not know?” 

Blinking hard, Matt snapped his mouth closed. “No, I knew you guys were into each other, I just didn't think…” he gestured vaguely between the door and Shiro, prompting another laugh. “No, don't. Don't even give me that. I am  _ not  _ the only one who doesn't know.” 

Rolling his eyes, Shiro turned away from him and cracked the door just wide enough to slip inside before shutting it behind himself again. 

Matt gawked at the door as he listened to the situation unfolding. The quiet reassurances, the uncomfortable grunts and groans. It felt oddly intrusive even though he knew nothing untoward or particularly private (all things considered) was happening. 

A few minutes later, Shiro held the door open triumphantly, ushering Matt back inside. They had had wrestled Keith free of the armor and left it lying in a crumpled pile on the floor. Keith stood halfway across the room in Shiro's sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants, glaring at the bundle of fabric. 

Matt strode over and grabbed the suit around the waist, shaking it hard. Clanging to the floor, Shiro's prosthetic bounced once and shot off, rocketing over to hover by Shiro's side with a faint whir. 

“I can't believe we didn't think of that.” Keith murmured, watching Shiro clench and unclench his fingers as the arm recalibrated. 

“I can't believe you didn't tell me you were together!” Matt shouted, all semblance of calm professionalism dropped. 

Keith raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Thought you were supposed to be some kind of genius.” He said with a smirk, eyes darting over to land on Shiro's amused smile. 

Fuming quietly to himself, Matt picked up the suit and stuffed it into Keith's arms. “Just… go away. I need to yell at you later but I haven't figured out what to yell yet.” He spun Keith by his shoulders and pushed him towards the door. “Tell Kolivan you figured it out during training and I'll need to find a workaround with his engineers.” Matt slammed the door in their faces. 

Keith looked up at Shiro and shrugged, threading the fingers of his right hand with Shiro's left. “Can't believe he didn't know.” Keith murmured, smiling at the fond expression Shiro gave him. 

“He said  _ nobody _ knew. Can you believe that?” He chuckled quietly as they walked back towards their quarters. 

Keith laughed and leaned in closer. “What? How?” 


End file.
